Prada Bags: Now Made in China for Italian Made Prices."

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#724
A sleepless night led me to this thread... I've always wanted to search for this info before, but I usually forget... and this made me look again for the MADE in tag for the only purse that I bought from Prada (bought almost 2 years ago from Chadstone Australia) ... I tried looking for it before (twice I think) LoL.. but today I just had to find it for my peace of mind...

it took some time for me to search the bag ... zip pocket , no just the white tag (I've checked this before, I don't know how could it change after more than a year) ...
inside the zippers (it's a SAF Small double zip tote violet - i think)... hmmm none...
looked again ....
and I almost gave up...
then I found it just below the long handles strap hook ... MADE IN ITALY ....

relief at last... I've always feared it was a MADE in CHINA (FYI I bought it for $18xx aud) coz I couldn't find the tag before
:smile1:
 
#726
reeco said:
"Made in China" should never go together with "Prada" especially if you paid a lot for it. Best to return it and look for something worth of your hard-earned money. Good luck!
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Where have you been for the last 6 years - Prada has been manufacturing in China for at least this long, probably even longer. Whilst I agree with the sentiment, it's a fact of life now.
 
#728
i don't know if this applies specifically to prada but, in the book deluxe: how luxury lost its lustre, the author mentions that some brands will have their most of their production outsourced to china, finishing touches like eg: details or handles will be done in italy and a tag with "made in italy" attached to the final product.
i will be more concern about quality as it seems that a "made in italy" tag is not guarantee the bag was not made somewhere else and under which conditions the factory is run
 
#729
pukasonqo said:
i don't know if this applies specifically to prada but, in the book deluxe: how luxury lost its lustre, the author mentions that some brands will have their most of their production outsourced to china, finishing touches like eg: details or handles will be done in italy and a tag with "made in italy" attached to the final product.
i will be more concern about quality as it seems that a "made in italy" tag is not guarantee the bag was not made somewhere else and under which conditions the factory is run
Click to expand...




IIRC this has been pointed out a few times in this epic thread--LOL. As well as the fact that while a product may be assembled in Italy, it may not be by skilled Italian craftsmen with generations of experience, but by foreign workers imported as a cheap labor pool.
This is by no means exclusive to Prada--------there is a decline in quality pretty much across the board as fashion houses cater to the less than upper crust clientele that flock to their product. This group seems to be more interested in flaunting a brand than in the substance of that brand.
There are many lovely older well made Prada styles and some current ones as well. But they are dismissed by the thundering herd that is only interested in the saffiano totes because they are the bag du jour. If this forum is any indication I can see why Prada is not taking a long haul view with the quality of these totes. Time after time it has been pointed out that there are many other lovely Prada bags that don't seem to have the well documented issues of the saffianos. Yet rather than branch out the popular response seems to be 1) keep returning a bag for repair or replacement. Repeat as needed. 2) buy the same style in different colors even though it is a crapshoot as to the quality you will receive or 3) walk away from Prada entirely without ever looking at other options. This last one actually gives me hope that when the herd eventually thunders on to the next mania Prada will go back to offering a variety of well made bags for the loyal customers who remain.
 
#730
poopsie2 said:
IIRC this has been pointed out a few times in this epic thread--LOL. As well as the fact that while a product may be assembled in Italy, it may not be by skilled Italian craftsmen with generations of experience, but by foreign workers imported as a cheap labor pool.
This is by no means exclusive to Prada--------there is a decline in quality pretty much across the board as fashion houses cater to the less than upper crust clientele that flock to their product. This group seems to be more interested in flaunting a brand than in the substance of that brand.
There are many lovely older well made Prada styles and some current ones as well. But they are dismissed by the thundering herd that is only interested in the saffiano totes because they are the bag du jour. If this forum is any indication I can see why Prada is not taking a long haul view with the quality of these totes. Time after time it has been pointed out that there are many other lovely Prada bags that don't seem to have the well documented issues of the saffianos. Yet rather than branch out the popular response seems to be 1) keep returning a bag for repair or replacement. Repeat as needed. 2) buy the same style in different colors even though it is a crapshoot as to the quality you will receive or 3) walk away from Prada entirely without ever looking at other options. This last one actually gives me hope that when the herd eventually thunders on to the next mania Prada will go back to offering a variety of well made bags for the loyal customers who remain.
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Nice post. I have to be honest and admit that it was the saffiano tote that got me interested in Prada at first, as I developed my interest in handbags fairly recently. Then, the quality issues and other woes came to light. I still bought one because I really fell in love with the color (Ottanio) and I don't regret that purchase. I did not want to buy another saffiano though, so I did start asking myself - what else is there to Prada? I read some posts from the more senior Prada folks and authenticators/experts raving about older Prada models, so I started doing some research and looking for older models online. I even first broke my old "buy brand-new in-store" rule for Prada, as I started buying older models no longer available in-store, online (and I had a lot of help from PP). Of course I have them authenticated first :D I can say the older models really are superb in terms of quality and craftsmanship (and diversity in design and material!). I keep hunting for older models online, but I do still wish for the day Prada will come back with more exciting and diverse designs. Other than the older Prada bags and my saffiano tote, I have some nylon Prada bags. That's another area Prada excels in - their nylon is amazing. I bought all my nylon in-store though since they seem to be easily and abundantly faked.


I will still try to keep myself updated as far as Prada goes, as maybe they can return to form/their glory days. Waiting...
 
#731
hey poopsie!
it is interesting how once a brand creates that coveted "it" bag and decreases quality to satisfy demand, instead of having the: this is not worth it reaction the opposite happens! people want more of it

is like hermes, totally out of my price range, but when i read about closed waiting lists, queues to be told randomly if you are allowed to get a hermes bag or not, snotty SAs ( don't get me wrong, i was quite a nice SA for a luxury goods company) which seriously, why would you be nicer if people will buy regardless? i just shake my head in disbelief and wonder if it is worth going through all those hoops

i live in sydney and seems that prada saffiano bags are ubiquitous, i know nothing about prada and remember wondering if that is the only style of bag they produced as it is the only style i see or recognize!
 
#732
poopsie2 said:
IIRC this has been pointed out a few times in this epic thread--LOL. As well as the fact that while a product may be assembled in Italy, it may not be by skilled Italian craftsmen with generations of experience, but by foreign workers imported as a cheap labor pool.
This is by no means exclusive to Prada--------there is a decline in quality pretty much across the board as fashion houses cater to the less than upper crust clientele that flock to their product. This group seems to be more interested in flaunting a brand than in the substance of that brand.
There are many lovely older well made Prada styles and some current ones as well. But they are dismissed by the thundering herd that is only interested in the saffiano totes because they are the bag du jour. If this forum is any indication I can see why Prada is not taking a long haul view with the quality of these totes. Time after time it has been pointed out that there are many other lovely Prada bags that don't seem to have the well documented issues of the saffianos. Yet rather than branch out the popular response seems to be 1) keep returning a bag for repair or replacement. Repeat as needed. 2) buy the same style in different colors even though it is a crapshoot as to the quality you will receive or 3) walk away from Prada entirely without ever looking at other options. This last one actually gives me hope that when the herd eventually thunders on to the next mania Prada will go back to offering a variety of well made bags for the loyal customers who remain.
Click to expand...


:goodpost: and very, very:true:

Couldn't have said it better myself, though certainly would be highly laced with even more sarcasm if I had. :devil:
 
#734
pukasonqo said:
hey poopsie!
it is interesting how once a brand creates that coveted "it" bag and decreases quality to satisfy demand, instead of having the: this is not worth it reaction the opposite happens! people want more of it

is like hermes, totally out of my price range, but when i read about closed waiting lists, queues to be told randomly if you are allowed to get a hermes bag or not, snotty SAs ( don't get me wrong, i was quite a nice SA for a luxury goods company) which seriously, why would you be nicer if people will buy regardless? i just shake my head in disbelief and wonder if it is worth going through all those hoops

i live in sydney and seems that prada saffiano bags are ubiquitous, i know nothing about prada and remember wondering if that is the only style of bag they produced as it is the only style i see or recognize!
Click to expand...



LOL----but even Hermes has 'affordable' canvas bags for those financially deficient fanciers who want to buy into the dream :p;)
 
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